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Home Sweet Home

5/26/2012

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Like most people, I am breaking down my hike into smaller goals along the way.  My immediate focus is usually on the next town stop and I typically have one larger goal in mind too.  I rarely think about Katahdin - it's just too far away right now.  When we started out, my larger goal had been to get to Damascus, VA.  It was our home for nearly three years and I was really looking forward to seeing all of our friends.  Plus it marked a new state for us on the journey.  

This past week we were in Damascus and it was so much more fun and restorative than I could have hoped for.  I'm actually kind of surprised I was able to tear myself away.  

Backing up, let's do a rundown of how the week went.  Last weekend was a trail festival called Trail Days.  It's arguably the biggest trail gathering of the year and many hikers find their way to town, even if they are somewhere else on the trail.  We were in Hampton, TN at the time of the festival so our friend JT came and picked us up.  We spent a night at the Letter People Farm and Rooney got to play with his doggy friend Runner.  

The next day we moved to a house in town to stay with our friends Brian and Christine (Trace and 1/3) who met on the trail in 2003.  They're such a loving and awesome couple and it was so nice to spend time with them and their two dogs, Bear and Chief.  

We wandered town and did the traditional Trail Days stuff like going to the gear booths and walking in the parade.  The parade is basically just hikers walking down the main road in town and getting pelted by water balloons.  Locals line the streets with balloons, super-soakers and hoses.  They really don't hold back and I was soaked by the end of it all.  

After the weekend, we moved to our friend Dennett's house.  He has an amazing yard right on the water and the Creeper Trail and he very generously allows hikers to camp in his yard.  At the high point of the weekend, he had over 30 tents set up in his yard - it was crazy.  The weather was kind to us and there was a lot of lazy hanging out during the day followed by big bonfires and live music at night.  The perfect scene for a bunch of hippie hikers.  Thank you, Dennett, for being so patient and kind to us all.  You really made everyone's Trail Days a great experience and  we're lucky to have you as a friend.  

After three much needed zeros we finally decided to get back on the trail for some slackpacking.  Slackpacking is when you take only what you need for the day and leave the bulk of your pack contents behind.  I carried a pack with just snacks for the day and an empty water bottle to drink at water sources.  It couldn't have been more than 5-6 pounds and it felt glorious.  We were able to do almost 45 miles in two days which let us get from Hampton to Damascus quickly.  JT shuttled us (have I mentioned how fantastic JT is?!) and our friend Angie lent us her car so we were able to easily make the miles happen.  

After the slackpacking we took one more day off to take advantage of bad tv and having a kitchen, then it was back to the trail and goodbye to fabulous Damascus.  After some serious tears and goodbye hugs, we  were back in the woods.  It wasn't hard to leave town comforts, I actually missed the trail, but leaving our friends was really difficult.  I know we will see them again, but we won't be living there again which is hard for me to come to terms with.  I really loved my home there and will miss seeing our friends regularly.  There are some really special people in Damascus and they will undoubtedly be friends for life.  

Once we were back on the trail, we had some really amazing spots to enjoy.  The Grayson Highlands was my first hike when I moved to the area and it is home to the most amazing trails I have experienced to date. The Highlands are beautiful and we took our time through this area, just enjoying the views.  The weather was perfect and our campsite was fantastic.  I couldn't have asked for more and it felt great to be back on the trail.

Yesterday we hit our 500 mile mark on the trail and it felt great!  We are in Virginia and ready to take on the trail's longest state.  We'll be in VA for 500 miles and many find this state to be the most challenging mentally, but I am really looking forward to it.  There are so many amazing things to see in VA and when we're done we will be almost halfway through our journey.  Plus we are in pretty great physical shape now so it will be nice to crank through the miles and really see what we are capable of.  

But first, we are taking a day off to visit with Serial's parents.  They picked us up on the trail and we're spending two nights with them in their RV.  They live full-time in their fifth wheel and travel the country just exploring and having adventures.  How cool.  Last night at dinner the four of us were reflecting on our current journeys and how lucky we all felt.  

Tomorrow it's back to the trail for us.  My next "big" goal will be Harpers Ferry, WV where we will meet back up with Serial's parents AND my parents.  It will be our unofficial halfway celebration and a little family reunion - lots to look forward to!  

Until then, we will be back to our trail/town routine and keeping you guys updated whenever we can.  A BIG thank you to all of our Damascus friends.  We love you more than we can express and we can't wait to see you when we come back to visit after the trail. :-)

Minutes, Serial and Rooney
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Hikers camped out for Trail Days
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Locals vs. Hikers kickball game in Damascus.
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Minutes on a waterfall.
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Serial in "Fatman Squeeze"
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Slinging water balloons at unsuspecting folks on the Creeper Trail.
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Minutes's shoes after 425 miles.
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Rooney cooling off on a warm day.
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Minutes crossing into Virginia
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Virginia, Here We Come

5/15/2012

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I can practically see Virginia from here!  Well, that's a slight exaggeration considering we are still 70 solid miles from Damascus, but it feels like we are close. 

Trail Days is a yearly festival and arguably the biggest social event of the season for hikers.  Many people get off the trail and find their way to Damascus for the weekend, regardless of where they are in their thru-hike.  Initially we had planned to walk into Damascus just as Trail Days started, but throw in a few unexpected zeros (it's just so fun in towns!) and we are a little off schedule.  But that's the beauty of the trail... there is no schedule.  Thanks to a very sweet and generous friend (we love you, JT!) we will be getting picked up in Hampton later this week and driving in with him for the weekend.  All of our trail friends will be in town and we will get to see all of our Damascus friends that we have been missing so very much.  Giant WIN.

After Trail Days we are going to try to do big miles (and perhaps some slack-packing to aid in said miles) to meet up with Serial's parents the following weekend.  They are living full time in an RV and traveling the country so we are going to stay with them for a night or two and catch up.  Basically we have some really awesome weekends in our immediate future.  

But let's back up a minute and fill you in on the past few weeks.  We're just shy of our 400th mile on the trail and we are still loving it.  Our month-long streak of sunshine was finally broken and we got our first (and second, third, fourth...) taste of hiking in heavy rain.  It's crazy how quickly you can become a soggy, muddy mess.  Hiking in the rain isn't so bad, but waking up the next morning to put the wet clothes back on again... that's the real kicker.  Such is life though and as long as we have dry camp clothes to sleep in, life is good.  

We also had a few amazing trail magic experiences.  Trail magic is anything unexpected along the trail that brings a smile to a hiker's face.   It can be food or drinks waiting for us at a road crossing, donated by a kind stranger.  Or it can be someone who offers to take your trash for you (when you are carrying 3-4 days worth of wrappers this is a nice surprise).  The trail magic we had though... man, it was good.  Prepare to be jealous.

First we got a visit from our friends The Letter People.  JT, L and E (get it?) are the sweetest family you can imagine and they drove up to a fire tower with a massive amount of food and drinks to join us for a night.  We had amazing views from the tower and had such a great night chatting and eating.  JT & L made us all veggie burritos and guacamole for dinner and egg burritos from their farm-raised free-range chickens the next morning.  They also brought in endless fresh fruit and margaritas to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.  It was amazing.  Our friend Piedmont put it best the next morning when he muttered "did that just really happen??" in a dazed voice.  Trail magic at it's finest.  Thank you, Letter People!!

Then a few days later we got another visit from a Damascus friend, Dennett!  He was traveling back from work and passing by us so he decided to run the trail to meet us then hike back out with us.  He ended up running about 7 miles in and then hiking 7 back out... and they were not flat miles!  He's a machine.  He brought a bunch of pop, beer and snacks for us and ended up sharing it with a group of hikers who were all dodging the rain that day.  It was such a fun surprise and awesome to see him.  Thank you, DD!

And as if those two weren't magic enough... we had our first trail magic from a complete stranger.  Two former thru-hikers had set up on top of Beauty Spot, which is where had planned to camp that night.  They brought curry vegetables and rice, homemade cookies and a massage chair.  Yep, you heard me.  A MASSAGE CHAIR.  One kind stranger was studying to be a massage therapist and needed to complete his community service hours so he thought, who better to practice on than hikers.  We are sore pretty much everyday so to say we were excited was a giant understatement.  Thank you, Tim and Andrea!!

So now you are all caught up.  As always, thanks for the love and support.  We miss you all!!
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View from Beauty Spot, looking at Unaka mountain.
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Unaka mountain, so dense and cold up there.
10 Comments

NC/TN Border

5/4/2012

6 Comments

 
Hello, friends!  Let's catch up.  We are doing well and still really enjoying our hike.   We are 270 miles in and just out of the Smokies.  The trail has been riding the NC/TN state border and we cross between the states often until we reach VA.  We are getting more and more comfortable on the trail and physically the hiking is becoming easier.  I look forward to hiking each day and I feel so much stronger than I did a few weeks ago.  Our mileage will steadily increase and we should be moving along pretty well in the next few weeks.  I don't think I have my full blown "hiker legs" but I can tell they are on their way.  I can't wait for that day!

The Smoky Mountains were amazing and as beautiful as everyone said they would be.  The higher elevation meant tough climbs and fantastic views, but also a wide range of weather.  We had hot and sunny days followed by cold, wet, hail-filled days.  It was all manageable though and made for some good laughs and stories when we huddled in shelters.

I haven't seen many animals out here.  I think having Rooney with us makes it less likely.  So far I've seen 4 snakes, 5 deer, 2 salamanders (they make us think of our friend Ryland!) and countless bugs.  Oh, and one mouse fell from the roof of a shelter on to my neck while I was packing my food bag one morning.  So gross!  Ticks haven't been a big issue, thankfully.They were around early on, but we haven't seen them much in NC or TN. 

My appetite is finally starting to kick in.  I track everything I eat and how many hours I hike each day, just out of curiousity, and so far I've been eating about 2,000-2,500 calories a day and burning about 3,000-4,000 on the trail, depending on how many miles we do.  In towns I house food and can easily eat 1,000 calories in one meal without batting an eye.  I weighed myself on a scale that was pretty unreliable, but I would guess I've lost about 7-8 lbs.  I'm losing fat, but gaining muscle so the scale isn't that different, but my body is definitely changing.  It's going to be crazy when my appetite really kicks in...I know this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Rooney is still doing really well.  We boarded him at The Standing Bear hostel while we were in the Smokies and it's nice to have him back again.  I'll admit there was a part of me that liked not having the additional responsibility of caring for a dog, especially in towns, but by the end of the week I was really missing my (not so) little blue pupper.  I really feel for the hikers who can't see their dogs for 5-6 months.

Socially, the trail is really interesting.  There are so many different people out here from all over the world.  I'm actually hiking with a few others from Chicago and one from Downers Grove...small world.  Thru-hikers, section-hikers and day-hikers all add to the social dynamic, but what makes it really fun is seeing familiar faces along the way.  There are about 20-25 hikers that we see regularly and its nice.  Like a little hiker family out here.

Serial and I have settled in to a hiking routine that works well for us.  Usually we start the day together and eventually Serial picks up his pace and we hike separately for several hours.  We meet up for lunch about 2/3 of the way into our day and take a break.  Then we either hike together to camp or hike slightly apart to camp, depending on the terrain and how fast I'm going.  Some couples out here hike all of their miles together, and we do that some days, but our paces and styles are too different to do that consistently.  This just works better for us and allows us to spend some time together and some doing our own thing.

Which reminds me...I finally got a trail name!  Serial and I both keep a decent pace and we pass a handful of hikers each day and for the first week everyone was always saying, "you just missed Serial, he's 10 minutes up ahead!". Early on the trail there were a lot of hikers out there and I was hearing "10 minutes" a bunch of times every day.  So...my trail name became Ten Minutes.  Eventually Serial kicked it into high gear and it was more like 30 minutes ha.  So my name was shortened and now it's just "Minutes".

That's it for now.  Gotta get my pack situated and get ready for the trail.  Much love to everyone following along and supporting us!

Minutes, Serial and Rooney

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First sign with mileage to Katahdin...gulp.
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Warming up after thunder hail in the Smokies
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Sunset on Max Patch
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Night lights for kayaking
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View from Fontana Dam.
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Camping on Max Patch
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    Update!  Life has become busy in a great way, so we don't have a lot of time for blogging these days.  We've left the site up as a reference, and we do check our blog emails whenever we can, but we are no longer actively posting or commenting.  Thanks for understanding and have a wonderful day! 

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    I'm a Chicago girl who loves the outdoors and everything DIY.  He's an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker and addicted to nature.  Follow us as we share our experiences with home projects, recipes and hiking with our energetic Weimaraner, Rooney.

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